Everyone know that ice forms when you have water and temperatures at or below freezing but have you ever thought about how ice machines actually work? At Capital Equipment, all we do is service and sales for commercial ice machines in the greater Kansas City area and each day we use our knowledge of how ice equipment actually produces ice to help our customers keep their ice bins full.

Commercial Ice Machines and Ice Equipment in Kansas City and Overland Park

Put simply, there are three main components needed for a commercial ice machine to work:

1. A Refrigeration System
2. A Water Supply
3. A Way To Collect the Ice

That seems simple but ice machines are far from it. While there are a variety of different types of ice machines, we’ll focus on one of the most common which is a metal ice cube tray.  The ice tray is connected to a series of coiled heat-exchanging pipes which are similar to what you would see on the back of your home refrigerator. A compressor pushes a refrigerant fluid through these pipes where they will narrow (condense) and then flow into a wider tube (evaporator) where  the liquid will expand. When refrigerant is compressed, it raises it’s pressure which also will raise it’s temperature and is it goes through the more narrow coils it will lose its heat and condense into a liquid. Now that the compressed liquid passes through  expansion valve , it will evaporate and become a gas which attracts heat from the surrounding pipes and the air around the refrigerant which, in turn, cools the pipes and the ice tray.

Water is then brought in from a filter and a pump gradually so that it is frozen layer by layer which creates the clear ice that you often see in restaurants and hotels. If you’re ice is white, cloudy and has a milky look, then there’s obviously a problem and you need to call us. There are a variety of ways the ice is then removed from the tray and into the bin but in most cases it gets a little nudge or the ice tray is has a downward angle so the cubes slide out on their own.

There are countless more components that enable commercial ice machines to, well, make ice and Capital Equipment’s service and repair team knows how to narrow down what’s ailing your equipment quickly and efficiently.  We buy all of our parts in bulk so that it saves our customer money because we know which parts are more likely to fail and we make certain that we have them on hand at all times. Whether your business is adding, upgrading or needing service and repair on commercial ice machines, Capital Equipment has got Kansas City covered with over 11 years of experience in the ice equipment business and a stellar reputation with our customers. Call us today for all of your commercial ice machine needs at (913) 683-8972 or CLICK HERE TO CONTACT US.

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Call Capital Equipment today at (913) 683-8972  for all of your commercial ice machine and ice equipment needs in the greater Kansas City area.

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